Learning ObjectivesAfter completing this course, you will be able to do the following:

Describe how common concussions are in various sports and age groups.

Identify how clinicians in the United States assess concussions.

Apply common concussion assessments and maximize their diagnostic properties, validity, and reliability.

Interpret the outcomes of concussion assessments with an appreciation of how various factors (e.g., environment, other clinical diagnoses) may influence the outcomes.

Concussion resulting in mild traumatic brain injury is one of the most common injuries sustained in contact sports. Evidence-Based Assessment of Concussion CE Course consists of a collection of evidence-based articles focused on the assessment and analysis of concussions, a topic that has quickly gained momentum in sport and activity. In this continuing education course, editors Jeffrey B. Driban, PhD, ATC, and Stephen Thomas, PhD, ATC, cofounders of Sports Medicine Research (SportsMedRes.org), have compiled a review of the research on epidemiology, etiology, and assessment of concussions. The articles are followed by an exam containing 50 questions. Upon passing the exam, you may print out and submit a certificate for continuing education credits.

Evidence-Based Assessment of Concussion CE Course supports the initiative in the athletic training profession to integrate the best new research and evidence into clinical decision making with the goal of improving patient outcomes. Certified athletic trainers completing this course may earn continuing education units to apply toward the newly required evidence-based practice category to maintain their certification. Evidence-based practice is becoming the standard for all allied health professionals. The articles in this course introduce athletic trainers to the concept of seeking out and evaluating relevant research so they may apply it to their daily practice to aid their athletes.

Contents

Article 1. Concussions Among United States High School AthletesArticle 2. Youth Soccer Girls Heading Up in the Concussion RatesArticle 3. Are We Assessing and Managing Concussions Properly?Article 4. If You’re Not Using the SCAT-2 For On-Field Concussion Diagnosis, Maybe You Should BeArticle 5. Online ImPACT Test Is a Valid Method of Detecting ConcussionsArticle 6. Clinical Reaction Time: A Simple and Effective Assessment Tool for ConcussionsArticle 7. Balance Error Scoring System and a Need for Reliability in the ClinicArticle 8. Diagnostic Methods Using a Computer-Based Cognitive Test May Lead to False PositivesArticle 9. Smaller Groups and More Supervision May Be Necessary for Baseline Testing in Younger AthletesArticle 10. Preliminary Baseline ImPACT Data for Those With ADHD or Learning Disabilities

Audiences

This continuing education course with exam takes an evidence-based
approach to the assessment and analysis of concussions.

Jeffrey B. Driban, PhD, ATC, is an assistant professor in the
division of rheumatology at Tufts University School of Medicine and a
member of the special and scientific staff at Tufts Medical Center. The
goal of his research is to explore novel biochemical and imaging markers
to gain a better understanding of osteoarthritis pathophysiology and
potential disease phenotypes.

Driban received his bachelor’s degree in athletic training from the
University of Delaware. During his doctoral training at Temple
University, he focused on various aspects of osteoarthritis (e.g., early
pathophysiology in animal models, biochemical markers in joint fluid,
systematic reviews of risk factors for osteoarthritis, survey of
medication use among patients with osteoarthritis). In January 2010, he
began a postdoctoral research fellowship in the division of rheumatology
at Tufts Medical Center, where he continued his focus on osteoarthritis
and learned new assessment strategies in magnetic resonance imaging.

Stephen Thomas, PhD, ATC, is an assistant professor at Temple
University. Thomas received his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in
athletic training from Temple University. He then received his PhD in
biomechanics and movement science from the University of Delaware.
Before working at Neumann University, Thomas performed a postdoctoral
fellowship at the University of Pennsylvania in the department of
orthopaedic surgery and biomedical engineering, where he received a Ruth
L. Kirschstein Research Grant from the National Institutes of Health. He
has served on several national committees and is the chair of the
research committee for the American Society of Shoulder and Elbow
Therapists.

Thomas continues to be active in the area of research, participating as
a manuscript reviewer for several peer-reviewed journals. He is on the
executive board for Athletic Training and Sports Health Care. He
also was an ad hoc grant reviewer for the EATA and is the cofounder of a
website dedicated to the summary of sports medicine research called
Sports Medicine Research (SMR) (www.sportsmedres.org). Thomas has
numerous peer-reviewed publications and abstracts in the areas of
shoulder adaptations due to overhead throwing and the basic science of
rotator cuff injury and healing. He has also had several invited
lectures throughout the United States in the area of overhead throwing.